M&A INSIGHTS
To Tell the Truth Sell-Side M&A Versus Estate Planning
By Len LaPorta Managing Director of Investment Banking, Wiley Bros.-Aintree Capital, LLC
Len LaPorta is a managing director of Investment Banking at Wiley Bros.-Aintree Capital, LLC – a 75-year-old firm, located in Nashville, TN, focused on investment brokerage and underwriting municipal bonds for utility districts in the state of Tennessee. Len brings to the Firm experience in crossborder M&A transactions between USA and Europe, advises business owners on sell-side and buy-side transactions, capital advisory, and valuations. Len is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with MBA from Boston College and a veteran of the U.S. Navy. He is also a member of INDA’s non-woven Technical Advisory Board. llaporta@wileybros.com or (615) 782-4107.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (US), Industrial Production: Total Index [INDPRO], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ INDPRO, June 12, 2023.
36 IFJ ISSUE 6 2023
We are constantly hearing that a family business owner is “going through an estate planning” initiative to understand their potential value. In many cases, the value created from a competitive M&A process is a better use of time. he professional industry supporting estate planning has a good reputation. It has a comprehensive network of knowledgeable advisors with strong academic backgrounds, subject matter expertise and it is an area that is heavily regulated. In a broad sense, these estate planning professionals include accounting, financial advisors, commercial bankers, real estate, community stewards, wealth planners and legal advisors. Please note, the author has great ties with members of these professional organizations. Let’s not forget the “non-professional” members supporting the business owner. This group includes the multi-generational extended family members. This mix includes current and former spouses,
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uncles, aunts, in-laws, children and grandchildren of the owner. An evolving third element in the estate planning game involves the university and religious institutions that are extremely active courting the business owner. Also not to be forgotten are the private undergraduate and elementary schools looking for a charitable contribution when your grandchild graduates from third grade. • Do these various groups have an impact on how the value of the business is determined for estate planning purposes? You bet they do! • Do these various groups attempt to sway discussion on the value determination? Unfortunately, yes. • Do these various groups agree with the ultimate decision regarding valuation? No. Enter your experienced investment banker to lead a sell-side M&A process for the business owner. Creating a competitive M&A sell-side process will provide a value that the market is willing to pay for your business. I would like to review some actual advisory scenarios involving families:
